Martin OD

Funny you should mention the length of the prop shaft. I have a feeling the engine and gearbox sit too far forward which accounts for the deformed straps. The rear gearbox mounted also seems to confirm this. There is a gap between the gearbox mounting support and the gearbox which has been shimmed by a washer. I tried moving the engine back but couldn't so I will leave it. It has been this way for a long time.

Hi all. Triumph Vitesse Mk 1, 2lt with overdrive. I have just had a look at my the rear U/J on the prop shaft, with the greatest of difficulty on the floor with the car on ramps. I am used to seeing a sliding joint but this one looks different. It doesn't appear to have a sliding joint but Flexible driving straps. A look on Rimmers web site and a workshop manual shows a different prop shaft arrangement. I presume this is an early arrangement and the straps takes up the lateral movement of the propshaft. However, I would have expected the driving straps to be straight and not deformed in this way. Can anyone throw any light on the propshaft arrangement. Incidentally it looks similar to the segmented tail rotor driveshafts on helicopters I have worked on. The straps flex a little to compensate for the fore and aft movements of the shafts.

All done now but it was a bit of a job. Very hard to get to but I was changing the engine mount anyway as it was perished and that made the job easier. Now the horn works all the time:😀 I had to fix a number of things before this, The pencil on the steering column had come apart and had to be re-soldered and all the cables around the horns themselves were broken or damaged. Thanks again for help and advice.

Thanks. The earth link No 3 is missing and it looks as though it has been missing for a long time but somehow the horn works most of the time. The steering rack one is there. How do you get to the earth link no 3. From below?. it looks impossible from the top.

Hi All. Triumph Vitess MK 1. My horn works most of the time but when I turn the steering wheel to a particular place i.e. 1 o'clock it does not work. A little bit left and right of this and it works. It is not the pencil and I am sure it is not the brass ring. My car does not have an earth strap on the bottom of the steering rack over the UJ which makes me wonder how it earths to work most of the time. I think it is earthing out through the steering wheel rubbing on the steering column metal housing, except in one spot. Fitting an earth strap to the bottom of the column looks difficult for lack of space. Any advice/help will be helpful.

I took my car to an experienced a Triumph friend who listened to my gearbox and he agreed it was a bit noisy but didn't think it sounded to bad. I will probably change the oil anyway as I don't know if it has ever been changed but I am not so worried now. Thanks for your help.

The oil level was low as the overdrive didn't work. When I topped it up recently the overdrive started to work so there might something in the input shaft bearing theory. I didn't need to put much oil in it but it was enough. I am having a second opinion about the noisy gearbox from another nearby vitesse Owner so I will see after that.

Noise is constant and in all gears whether the car is coasting with clutch down or driving. It is not layshaft bearings. My thoughts are the output shaft bearings or the overdrive. Or it might be "just the way it is" and I am being fussy. I am sure it is gearbox and not any other component. The gear change I am sure is mainly synchros and so is internal. The gear change is not bad but I feel could be better. However, I do nurse the changes and not slam it in to save the synchros. If I drive it with the top down the noise goes away.😀😀😀. Or if I turn up the radio.

My Vitesse MK1 2 ltr has always had a noisy gearbox and the gear change is a little rough. Not so I need an overhaul but I would like to see if I can improve it. The box has been overhauled in the past. Will changing the oil make much difference. It does have an overdrive. As usual your collective option is sought.

Well, I wish all fixes were as easy as that. I fitted a new Can from Rimmer's for about £5 and problem is cured 😀.

The can that is fitted is a GFU103OE, 3 pin. It was attached by a piece of string!!!. I will find somewhere to bolt it on. Does it need to be earthed by a bolt I wonder. I will try that later.

Hi All. I have an odd problem. The green indicator light on the dashboard is always on. It does go off when the indicators are working. When I unplug the indicator CAN the light goes off. Does this sound like a CAN problem. So far it is not a worry but it does sound odd to me. I could swap out the CAN but I wonder if anyone has had this problem before. I would rather ask a question before action. (sorry, too many CANs but that is what it is). Car is Triumph Vitess mk 1, 2 lt

Thanks for the solenoid tip. That seems to be my next move. How do I get it out. Do I need to lower/raise the gearbox. It is very tight getting to it. I can't get a spanner on it.

My MK 1 vitesse overdrive does not work and the first thing seems to be to top up the oil. It is a bit low and so I will try that first. Some people seem to think jacking up the front of the car and overfilling the gearbox is a good idea to allow the oil to seep into the OD. The car is then levelled and any excess oil is drained out of the filling plug. Is this a good idea or a bit of a Faff. Secondly I have a J type OD. Is this unusual? Most people seem to think I should have a D type. Any thoughts are welcome. Thirdly whist looking at the gearbox I noticed that this switch is loose. ( see photo). Although it has 2 spade connectors there are no wires for it. Is this a redundant reversing switch and should it be tight?